Capitol needs P70 million to repair CICC

The provincial government needs at least P70 million to repair the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC), which was damaged twice by calamities that hit Cebu last year.

In a press conference at the Capitol, Governor Hilario P. Davide III said the facility is being considered as one of the venues of the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference in 2015 and the Eucharistic Congress in 2016.

“If there should be any repair or rehabilitation, it has to be done fast,” he said.

Davide, together with Provincial Administrator Atty. Mark Tolentino, met with Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes in his office on Thursday, January 2 to talk about the matter.

Davide said they will meet again with the Philippine Exhibits and Trade Corporation (PETCO), the private firm that managed the CICC to discuss the repair and upgrades to make it a real convention center.

He said they are studying several options. One is to seek the help of the Department of Public Works and Highways and Department of Tourism for a joint undertaking.

The province built the facility for the Association of Southeast Asian Nation Summit in 2007, at a cost of over P1 billion. The Mandaue city government owns the lot, where the property stands.

Davide said the facility was insured but they don’t have an idea yet how much of the repair budget can be covered by the insurance policy.

In another matter, while the Capitol has struggled from the losses caused by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake and super typhoon Yolanda, it however did well in gaining income from the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT).

CSBT Administrator Vicente Dejoras Jr. said for the year 2013, the facility earned P59.9 million. Despite the scrapping of the P5 entrance fee at the start of the year, it still almost hit its P60 million target for the year.

He added, however, that they still have around P100 thousand collectibles as back rentals of the stall owners in the facility.

Aside from the rentals of the stall owners, the Capitol charges fees from the buses and restrooms.

ABOUT

Cebu is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas (Region VII) region, and consisting of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets.

Cebu is one of the most developed provinces in the Philippines, with Cebu City as the main center of commerce, trade, education and industry in the Visayas. In a decade it has transformed into a global hub for shipping, furniture-making, tourism, business processing services, and heavy industry.